STRESS, DIZZYNES AND ISSUES WITH BALANCE

Have you ever thought about how easy it is to get dizzy when you're stressed?

Suddenly it feels like everything is spinning, or it feels like you're walking on unsteady ground. It's an uncomfortable feeling, and the worry about why you're getting dizzy makes you tense up even more and then may you get tired. It often also triggers a feeling that you're about to lose control.

Dizziness and balance problems are a major challenge for many people, and have as much of a mental aspect as a physical one. It's not uncommon for us to "lose our footing" when we feel stressed or ill, but not everyone thinks about how stress can "settle" in the feet in the form of muscle tension.

When the muscles in our feet become tight, we start to put weight on them in a different way than we're used to. We lose somewhat  contact with the surface we stand and walk on. It's like constantly walking on slippery ice, or walking in a pair of high heels. We may become wobbly and have a harder time maintaining our balance. As a result, the rest of the body has to adapt to the new conditions. We have for example to maintain our balance by raising our shoulders and tensing our jaw muscles. This affects the rest of the body, often triggering dizziness and impaired balance.

So it's a wise investment to pay a little more attention to your feet. There's a good foot exercise in my book ”Regaining Balance, the Swedish Healthcare Method to Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Pain", that helps restore the balance of muscle tension in your feet.

When you do exercises that make you more aware of your feet, it will also affect your body image in the brain. A clearer perception of your body means that you can walk and stand in a more comfortable way, and as a result, reduce both dizziness and feelings of unsteadiness.